Today we celebrate Columbus Day! It is really on Oct. 12, but since that was yesterday, Sunday, the official celebration is today.

I am grateful for Christopher Columbus!

Does that surprise you? Well, it shouldn’t. He was a truly remarkable man. He lived at a time when people believed only what they could see, and they could see the edge of the world. Therefore, the world was flat and if you traveled too far, you would fall off, just like off a table! Yet, Columbus was inspired enough to know better, and believed the world to be round. Granted, he did not realize how big that roundness was, as he thought by sailing westward on the Atlantic Ocean he would reach the east side of India. But his out-of-the-box thinking led him to see a very different world than his compatriots saw.

Columbus was a very brave man. He lost his entire fortune, yet persisted in following his dream to prove that his theory of a round world was correct. He may well have had some trepidation about setting out to prove his point, but he was able to overcome any doubts, continue to press onward until he gained the backing he needed, set sail with a group of men who certainly did not all believe as he did but led them to go on in spite of their fears, and succeed in completing the goal he set out to reach. Indeed, as he said, “By prevailing over all obstacles and distractions, one may unfailingly arrive at his chosen goal or destination.”

Columbus was an inspired man. “And I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land.” 1 Nephi 13:12. Columbus was not evil, he was a man [human being] and he was led by God, inspired. He went to visit his neighbors! 🙂

Additionally, the Indians of the Americas [Native Americans] had also migrated here, only thousands of years before the Europeans. So, more “indigenous” than we today, but non-indigenous none-the-less. Their forebears were also led by God, inspired. As a matter of fact, as we learn from the Book of Mormon, three separate groups were led here to the promised land long before the Europeans came.

So, let’s dig a little deeper:

Myth: Columbus brought slavery to the new world. Truth: Slavery had existed in the new world for thousands of years. The Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas all were regional superpowers that enslaved nearby tribes. We also know from American history that Sacajawea was captured as a young girl by the Sioux Indian tribe and made a slave. She was later sold to the French trapper hired by Lewis and Clark to guide them.

Myth: America was peaceful prior to Columbus. Truth: In addition to the regional superpowers mentioned above, we know that Hiawatha helped found the Iroquois League of Nations circa 1300. Over the next 400 years this League’s aggressive expansion resulted in a wholesale rearrangement of tribal lands in what is now the United States and Canada. For example, the Sioux Indians were at that time residents of Michigan and Illinois prior to being driven west by the Iroquois League. The Sioux were later fortunate to obtain escaped horses from the Spanish, and only became the plains Indians as we think of them circa 1700. (This also puts a dent in their story of the Black Hills being their ancestral homeland since time immemorial.) From the Lewis and Clark journals circa 1804 we know that the Sioux pushed the Shoshone Indians from central Montana to west of the continental divide during the period of Sacajawea’s enslavement. Other major displacements precipitated by the Iroquois were the western migration of the Blackfoot tribe in the US and the Blood tribe in Canada. A similar regional power developed in the southeastern United States with the establishment of the Creek Indian Nation, resulting in the western migration of, among other tribes, the Comanches which pushed the Apache over into Arizona and western New Mexico.

Myth: The Europeans brought genocide into the Americas. Truth: In the far north, the Inuit conducted complete genocide of the Thule civilization, totally eradicating it from the earth. We also know that in the great basin desert the Goshute, described by Mark Twain as the Digger Indians, were pushed into a near-barren landscape that no one else wanted, where they were dying out (see Mark Twain’s journals of the American West). Doubtless there are many other ones that ceased to exist, including the Maya which were eventually toppled, and the Anasazi which ceased to exist in the 1300s.

Myth: European culture was the first to alter the landscape of the Americas. Truth: As described in the book 1491, there is extensive evidence that the Indian civilizations in both North and South America managed their landscapes. For example, the woods that greeted the settlers in Indiana and Illinois were not there in 1490, due to slash-and-burn farming. There was also extensive landscape management performed by the much earlier mound-builder civilization. In Central America and much of the Amazonian basin, complex landscape management used slash-and-burn farming where much of today’s rainforests now exist.

Myth: The Europeans deliberately caused germ warfare. Truth: While it is true that disease brought over by the Europeans caused thousands of the Indian population to die, this was not purposeful, nor was it a one-way street as the Indians also introduced disease to the Europeans. Part of the calamity in this topic is that, with the lack of gene-pool caused by their much smaller numbers, the Indians had a more restricted immune systems than the Europeans had. They also had a more limited spectrum of responses, meaning that their antigens didn’t recognize viruses, nor could their white cells then fight them nearly as well. This “illustrate[s] the importance to a population of having multiple HLA profiles; one person’s HLAs may miss a particular bug, but another person may be equipped to combat it, and the population as a whole survives.” Charles C. Mann, 1491.

Bottom line, without Columbus and others like him, most of us would not be here today. And, “All of God’s children, through their variety, add flavor to the daily stew that is our life. This is regardless of their race, ancestral homeland, creed, or color. Almost everybody has something they can teach us if we but have the sense to learn.” Lloyd Pearson.

It’s the second day of being home, not feeling too well. Though I do feel better today than I did yesterday. I wasn’t sure if it was a cold, sinus thing, or even just allergies getting the best of me. Stuffy nose, no sore throat or coughing.

So I rested, tried medications, and finally (why is it sometimes the last thing I try?) asked beloved hubby to give me a husband’s blessing. I’m so glad he holds the Melchizedek Priesthood and has the power and authority of God to be able to do that for me! It’s just like when Jesus was alive on the earth and blessed the sick. He also gave His authority to his apostles so they could do the same thing. And that same priesthood power has been brought back to the earth in our day.

We have been so blessed by the priesthood. Marriage in the temple of God not just till death do you part, but for time and all eternity! Blessing of babies – not baptism because, as Moroni 8:8-11 says:

“8 aListen to the words of Christ, your Redeemer, your Lord and your God. Behold, I came into the world not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance; the bwhole need no physician, but they that are sick; wherefore, little cchildren are dwhole, for they are not capable of committing esin; wherefore the curse of fAdam is taken from them in me, that it hath no power over them; …

9 And after this manner did the Holy Ghost manifest the word of God unto me; wherefore, my beloved son, I know that it is solemnamockery before God, that ye should baptize little children.

10 Behold I say unto you that this thing shall ye teach—repentance and baptism unto those who are aaccountable and capable of committing sin; yea, teach parents that they must repent and be baptized, and humble themselves as their littlebchildren, and they shall all be saved with their little children.

11 And their little achildren need no repentance, neither baptism. Behold, baptism is unto repentance to the fulfilling the commandments unto the bremission of sins.”

This is a beautiful truth that we learn from the Book of Mormon. Heavenly Father wanted us to know the truth of these things and set in motion, thousands of years ago, the process so we would have these truths today!

Throughout the media today was touted, “debate on gun control continues on 1 month anniversary of Newtown tragedy.”

Whichever side you are on in regards to gun control, there is a question that demands attention. “To be or not to be” gun controlled, that is the question. But, is that THE question?

Lawmakers and much of society is quick to jump on the bandwagon, demanding more gun control laws. Is that really the only consideration to this situation?

I believe something else deserves even greater contemplation and deliberation to keep these events from happening. Fortunately, there are still many people who practice this philosophy, despite society’s abhorrence for allowing ethics and morality to be a part of life.

Imagine a world where people treated each other respectfully, where everyone’s opinion mattered, and all were encouraged to do their best, to learn and to grow, and to develop a good character. What would life be like in such a world? How would people settle their differences? How would they seek attention when they needed help, a listening ear, or a sounding board? How would children be treated in such a world? Would they be welcomed as priceless treasures? How would neighbors act toward each other? Would they chip in and help when their neighbor was ill, out of work, lonely and sad? Would people be regarded as being of worth?

And what about those who chose to cheat, lie, steal, etc? Would there be very many people who acted that way? If they were taught all their lives to rise above these temptations, that they were of infinite worth because they are children of God, that all people are children of God and deserve to be treated with kindness and consideration, what would their lives be like?

What if lawmakers and society decided to reinstate these values? They could encourage churches to help give guidance and support, authorize schools to teach true diversity, and allow parents to instill ethical behavior. What type of people would this produce?

I say it would give us a community that is safe, supportive, friendly, calm, and peaceful. Unrealistic?